


The Girls Of Ba Sing Se

by JelloPuddinPops



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ba Sing Se, Episode: s02e15 Tales of Ba Sing Se, Eventual Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Guilt, Light Angst, Secret Identity, Tea, Zuko Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2020-06-25 16:18:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19749310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JelloPuddinPops/pseuds/JelloPuddinPops
Summary: "The Blue Spirit", "Lee", "Jerk Firebender"; Zuko goes by many names. Living in Ba Sing Se forces him to realize that he's unhappy with all the pretending. He longs to be able to be himself without being ashamed, but he fears that not even he knows who he really is anymore.Through several unexpected encounters during his time in the city, Zuko's mentality towards life slowly begins to evolve without him even noticing.





	1. The Blue Spirit

He sits in a deep crouch, high up above the silent city. No one would be able to distinguish the black of his clothes from the shadowed alcove he’s tucked himself into, not that many people are out at this time of night. If someone knew what they were looking for, they might have caught a glimpse of the white and blue of his mask catching the slightest bit of moonlight. He scans the rooftops and quiet streets below, alert. Though it is unlikely anything will happen, he’s ready to spring to action at a moments notice. 

The stars silhouette the chimneys and rooftops. Far in the distance is the tall and confiding dark figure of the outer wall.

It's so different from back home. Everything is different, the shapes of the buildings, the colours, and especially the people. Where home was black and red and sharp, here he was swimming in a sea of green and brown and grey. This place was a far step from being home, but he still found himself liking it more than those years he’d spent at sea.

When he was young, people would bend to his every whim. He had some of the most skilled people in his nation dedicated to teaching him everything they knew. He had lived in the biggest and most extravagant building in the nation. That was all well and good, but he knew what he was really missing. He missed the time when he had his family.

No use thinking of that. Not now. 

Working as a waiter, of all things, took some real getting used to. Being constantly surrounded by people, constantly having to interact, it’s not really for him to say the least. He would love nothing more than to be the one brewing tea in solitude at the back of the shop instead of his uncle, but he knew his skills paled in comparison. 

The emptiness and silence of the night suit him much better. It’s so much more simple. High on the rooftops, tucked away from sight, he could finally hear himself think, and there was a lot to think about.

Here, it’s easy to tell right from wrong. It’s easy to know what to do. Nothing about fate or destiny, no pressure to act a certain way. Here, he could feel free to act as he pleased, helping others and stopping those who caused harm. This would not restore his honour, he knew that. There was only one way he could do that, but the little deeds make him feel like a little less of a failure, nonetheless.

A distant sound tugs him from his thoughts. With a tilt of his head, he listens in. He hears the sound of light footsteps, followed by louder heavy ones and a deep male voice. His brow furrows with suspicion and he quickly begins gliding from one rooftop to the next to get closer to the sound. He slows down as he gets closer to the noise.

“Just what is a pretty little thing like yourself doing in the lower ring at this time of night?”

“I g-got lost,” came the timid response.

“How old are you?” the gravelly voice asked again, this time from the alley directly below.

“Eight...” 

Peering over the edge of the building, he quickly assessed the situation. 

There is a man who looked to be in his mid to late fifties. The dirty and faded beige fabric falls loosely around his scrawny physique. A messy unshaven beard grows from his sweaty face, and greasy strands of hair fall in front of his eyes. He takes a step further into the alley. 

In front of him is a little girl. She is wearing a long deep green dress, and her wavy hair is swept into a high ponytail with a flowered comb. She backs up to the wall between the two buildings, away from the man.

“Please, leave me alone!” she cries, “I’m scared!”

“Quiet down. People are sleeping. We don’t want to disturb them,” the man says, with a chuckle, “You’re really pretty, you know that? Don’t see many girls like you here in the lower ring.”

He can’t watch this anymore. He slides off of the roof, feet barely making a sound as he lands between the two.

The man blinks in shock at the figure that had appeared in front of him, blocking him from his target.

“You! You’re the blu-”

His voice is interrupted by a grunt of pain as the figure’s fist connects with his jaw. He stumbles back, hand on his sore face. Without a moment to recover, another blow slams into his stomach. As he keels over in pain, a knee slams up into his face, breaking his nose. The man slumps to the ground. Though the man was in no danger of getting up any time soon, he can’t help but kick him one last time, no matter how petty the act may be.

He winces as the adrenaline starts to fade from his system. He doesn’t usually attack so ungracefully, so emotionally. Well, that’s not entirely true. Some would argue that he always attacks like that. Though he never does when he’s-

“The Blue Spirit!” the little girl’s high pitched voice calls from behind him. He turns to face her.

She stares at him wide-eyed for a moment. Her face is streaked with tears. She steps towards him. 

“You’re the Blue Spirit!”

He doesn't say anything. The Blue Spirit never says anything.

Instead, he drops down into a low squat, resting his elbows on his thighs. At eye level, he gives her a nod. 

“You saved me!” she exclaims.

Suddenly, he finds himself being wrapped in a hug. He lets out a soft chuckle and gently pats her shaking back. Old memories of being hugged by another little kid float at the back of his mind, and his hand stills. 

He sometimes forgets about how his younger sister hadn't always been the way she is now. She used to be just like this little girl. What would this kid have turned out like if he hadn’t been there to save her? Would she turn out like his sister, spiteful and unempathetic? 

No use thinking about that. The man is not a threat anymore. Nothing will happen to this kid. Assuming she makes it home safe, that is...

He purses his lips. The Blue Spirit doesn’t talk. He never talks, but he figures he can make an exception. Just this once.

“Where is your family?” he asks, barely a whisper. If she were any farther from him, she wouldn't have heard.

She explains between sniffles that her family live in the inner ring but had been staying at an inn here for a few nights. She had gotten bored of being cooped up, and snuck out to explore while her parents were busy. She had gotten lost and was trying to make her way back to the inn when the man had found her.

He stood, the girl still in his arms, clinging to him like a koala squirrel to a tree. She’s probably past the age of needing to be carried around, but he knows she could use the extra comfort.

“Do you remember the name of the inn?” he asks, in the same quiet tone. He is hoping that this quiet voice is different enough from his speaking one that it wouldn't be recognizable. 

She scrunches up her nose in thought. “I think it was… the Duck Badger’s Den? Or was it the Weasel Bear’s den…”

He immediately knows the one she’s talking about. It was on the way to the market where he regularly got supplies for himself and his uncle. With a nod, he starts walking down the street.

“Listen, kid,” he whispers.

“Yeah?” she asks, looking up at him with those same wide eyes, hanging on to his every word. 

“Stay with your parents. Especially in the outer ring. It's dangerous.”

“But I like to go exploring! Besides, you saved me!” she protests.

“No!” he says, louder than he meant to. Wincing, he then whispers “No. You can’t put yourself in harm's way. This time you were lucky. I won't always be there to save you.”

She is quiet. 

“Do you understand me? You need to keep yourself safe.”

He feels a wet patch form on his shoulder, where the girl had buried her face.

“Wh-what would’ve happened to me if you didn’t hurt him?” she asks, “What was he going to do to me?”

He stops walking, mid-step. 

Behind the fearsome mask, he blinks hard, tears threatening to fall from his wide eyes. How is he supposed to answer that? What is he supposed to say?

“P-please. Please just stay with your parents. You’re fine this time. He didn’t hurt you. Just stay safe. Keep yourself safe. Okay?” he says, wishing his voice could be steadier. He hugs her close to him. For her comfort, not his. That's what he tells himself, at least.

“Okay,” she agrees, “But how come you weren’t scared of the bad man? You just jumped down and beat him up like it was nothing!”

“Believe me, he posed no threat to me. He goes after people who can’t defend themselves because he himself is weak. He was no fighter. I... I was scared though.” he admits, “Not of fighting him, I was scared of what would happen if I didn't.”

He knows he’s talking too much. Too loudly. He was breaking his own rules. He reasoned that she was just a little kid. There’s no harm in her hearing his voice a little. It’s not like there was any chance of her recognizing him, she would be going back to the inner ring soon anyways.

A few minutes later, they approach the inn. He immediately notices three people standing out front, one pacing back and forth. 

“Yeah, this is it! The Possum Hare’s Den!” she exclaims as he gently sets her down onto her feet. “Mom?”

“Yun!” shouts one of the people in front of the inn. Her voice is filled with desperation and relief. “My baby, you're okay!”

She runs to her daughter and pulls her into a hug, her husband close behind. The family, all dressed in expensive clothing, huddle together on the dirt road. Smiling and crying and simply holding each other. The third figure, an Earth Kingdom guard, looks on for a moment, before running off.

“My little girl,” her father mutters into her hair, tears streaming down his face. “You’re safe now. You have no idea how badly I wanted to scour the streets for you myself. The guards told us they’d have a better chance of finding you first. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Standing a few feet away from such a touching family reunion, he feels out of place. An outsider seeing a moment that wasn't for him. For some reason, though, he can't look away.

The father and mother. Both of them. So happy to have their child back. So welcoming, so loving, so concerned for her wellbeing. 

Would his father welcome him home like this?

Of course he wouldn’t. He can’t remember a time where his father had ever hugged him. But… he would be happy to see him at least, right?

Some small lurking part of him way in the back of his brain argues that he wouldn’t. He had never loved him. Never accepted him, never been proud. It would be foolish to think so. Look what he had done to him. His own son. There was no way he would ever...

No. He just needs to restore his honour. It’s not his father’s fault that heir to the throne was bumbling and failing every step of the way. The blame fell squarely on his own shoulders. After all, he was a disappointment. Always had been. 

But that was going to change. He was going to change. Once he completes his mission, everything will change. His father will accept him. He has to. 

“Mommy, Daddy, he’s the Blue Spirit! He saved me! The bad man wouldn't let me go, but he beat him up and brought me back!” the little girl, Yun, exclaimed.

“Th-the bad man?” Yun’s mother asked softly, voice breaking like she was about to cry, “Wouldn’t let you go?”

He’s thankful for his mask in this moment, not wanting anyone to see his pained expression. He can’t imagine what it would be like to hear that from your own sweet little daughter. He can’t imagine what must be going through that mother’s head.

He freezes at the sudden feeling of eyes on him. Yun was pointing in his direction and the gazes of her parents followed Feeling all the more the outsider, he bows respectfully at the couple, before turning to make his leave.

A hand catches his shoulder. The father. He locks eyes with the wooden mask for a moment, before pulling him into a tight hug.

“Spirit or not, I owe you my life,” he says, giving a few firm pats on the back. “Thank you for saving my daughter.”

His throat closes from emotion, not that he would answer anyways. The Blue Spirit never talks. He gives another sharp nod, and they break the embrace.

The parents give him one last smile, before turning towards the inn. Yun turns around and waves goodbye.

With an unseen smile on his lips, he gives her a little wave in return.

When the door closes safely behind them, he turns and makes his way back to the shadows. Not for much longer, though. The whole ordeal had left him completely exhausted. After slinking back through his window, he shucks off the costume and falls into the sheets, enveloping himself in darkness and slowly melting away.

As everything fades and he’s no longer the Blue Spirit, no longer the waiter at the tea shop, no longer the banished disgrace. He’s nothing. Just before drifting away completely, a small smile graces his lips, then he’s gone.


	2. Lee

“Lee!”

“Ahh! Uncle!” he yelps, standing up straight, clutching the mop in his hands. He’d somehow managed to start dozing off while standing right in the middle of the shop. His ears burn.

“I told you to start going to bed earlier, Nephew. Getting good sleep is very important for one’s body and mind,” his uncle gently reminds him as he brews another pot of tea, “Do you need to take a break?”

“No, uncle, I’m fine. I can keep working, ” he replies, feeling the eyes of the customers on his back. Now wide awake, he makes quick work of mopping the floors and continues on his shift, serving tea and clearing tables. 

He isn’t kind to the customers, not in the way his uncle is, but he isn’t impolite. He could, in theory, put up a false front of happiness. He could pretend to be interested in small talk.  
He could act as easy going and friendly as his uncle, but he prefers coming across as standoffish over blatantly fake. Unlike his sister, he had never been very good at lying. 

Just being in this city, calling himself “Lee”, pretending to be an Earth Kingdom citizen, that was more than enough lying for him.

He can’t deny that there are parts of him that enjoy this way of life. Parts of him that almost want to continue to live like this, though he’d never admit it. Here, deep within these great stone walls, he’s completely unknown. He doesn’t have to think about things like war or honour, constant moving, constant searching. Here, things are... stable.

The other parts of him know that this isn’t real. He can’t pretend forever. There’s no way somebody like him is able to sit aside and give up. He can’t forget his destiny. He can’t ignore where he’s from

Of course, he does have his… nightly endeavours… to let loose and stop pretending that he’s some helpless employee at a tea shop. It feels good to go out there and actually do something, but that still isn’t him. He is not Lee, he is not the Blue Spirit. They are both parts of him, but they are not him. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to be himself. 

“Lee, are you falling asleep again? Are you sure you don't need to lay down for a while? There is no shame in taking a moment to collect one’s self and allow one’s mind to rest.”

“No, Uncle. I’m not tired. I’m just thinking.”

He needs to focus on what’s important. Capturing the Avatar and returning to the Fire Nation. That’s what’s important. That’s what he wanted, right?

As he continues working, a customer taps him on the arm.

"Young man, a moment, if you will, about the attack the other day?"

Ah, yes. The attack. Jet, who he and his uncle had met on the boat before entering Ba Sing Se, had burst into the shop accusing him and his uncle of being firebenders.

It was touching that these Earth Kingdom citizens would take his side like the did. He knows it was likely more for his uncle’s sake than his own, but he appreciated it nonetheless. 

"I know you're not much of a talker, but I just wanted to say, thank you. Defending your uncle and the shop from that lunatic the other day was very noble of you. Good, strong, hard-working young people like yourself are rare, but you give me hope," Says the wrinkled old woman, patting his elbow with a smile

He muttered a thank you, with a strained expression.

He didn't regret keeping himself and his uncle safe. It would have been disastrous for them if they had been discovered. Despite this, he can't ignore the guilt that weighs on him every time he thinks about it.

Jet had been right. They were firebenders. He tries to argue with himself that being a firebender is not a crime, and he shouldn't feel shame, but he finds himself unconvinced. Of course, there are many of those in the Fire Nation who mean no harm and do not deserve to be hated.

That being said, he knows that people in the Fire Nation could be cruel. He has pride in his nation, yes, but he is not naive. He had seen that girl's scars as she treated him and his uncle, bestowed unto her by the Fire Nation who she grew to loathe. His own scar garnered her sympathy, but he knew that she would never have been so welcoming and so vulnerable had they approached her as themselves.

Of course, Earth Kingdom citizens could be cruel too. Those bullies of soldiers in that village, that man last night with the little girl…

There were cruel people in every nation. He knew this. He accepted this. 

What ate away at him was that he couldn't say for sure that he was not one of them.

He wasn't just some firebender. He was the Prince of the Fire Nation. He was Firelord Ozai's son. 

He had done cruel things, he couldn't deny that, but he had done them for the greater good. Every cruelty was done with the intent of capturing the Avatar. Giving the Avatar to his father would not only restore his honour, but also help the Fire Nation in their quest to make the world greater. 

He knows this. He knows this and yet he still feels guilt tearing away at him. The worst part is, he can't understand why.

As he continues waiting tables, his eyes meet those of a girl in the back of the shop, peering over her cup of tea. He scowls. He had almost forgotten about her. She had been coming to the tea shop every day since his fight with Jet, and more often than not, her eyes were on him. He tries to act casually and finishes what he’s doing. Doing his best not to seemed rushed, he heads behind the counter.

“Uncle! We have a problem. One of the customers is onto us. Don't look now, but there is a girl over there at the corner table. She knows we're Fire Nation.”

His uncle cranes his neck towards the girl, and he pulls him back before she spots them.

“Didn't I say don't look?!”

“You’re right, Nephew. I’ve been seeing her around here a lot. She seems to have quite the little crush on you!” His uncle says with a grin, patting him on the shoulder.

“W-what! Stop joking around, Uncle! This is serious! She doesn’t-”

“Excuse me,” the sweet female voice from behind him nearly jolts him out of his skin, “thanks for the tea. What’s your name?”

He turns around to find the very girl they’d been discussing moments before setting some coins down on the counter. If she was really suspecting them, she was very good at hiding it. Her pleasantly smiling face gave nothing away.

“My name is Lee,” he replies tersely, “my uncle and I just moved here.”

Her smile broadens as she says brightly “Hi Lee! My name’s Jin. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been coming here all this week, and I’d really like to get to know you better. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out sometime?”

He freezes in place, eyes wide. Uncle had been… right? He opens his mouth slightly as if to speak, but his mind can’t formulate a response. Her head tilts questioningly, her expression is shy and hopeful with a dusting of pink on her cheeks. Why in the world would she give that look to somebody like him? He’s been nothing but standoffish and quiet at best, and rude and angry at worst since he came here. What could she possibly see in him?

Maybe his uncle was wrong after all. Maybe she was planning to lure him to some isolated alley and have him ambushed for being a firebender. That must be it. There’s no way she’d have a crush on him, of all things. He’s best off politely refusing to avoid any confli-

“He’d love to!” his uncle says, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“Great!” she says, “How does tonight sound?”

“You are in luck! My nephew has no plans for this evening,” his uncle grins.

“Then meet me outside the shop at sundown. I’ll see you then, Lee!”

She waves goodbye at him, and he gives her a small nod. Watching her leave, he quickly grabs his uncle by the sleeve and pulls him into the back room.

“What was that, Uncle? Why would you do that when I just told you to watch out for her?” he asks, voice full of venom, yet subdued enough that customers shouldn’t overhear.

“I thought you would have wanted to go! You didn’t refuse…”

“That’s because I couldn’t get a word in, Uncle! Ughh!” he groans, dropping to a squat with his head in his hands. He grumbles there fuming for a moment, elbows on his knees, before a gentle hand falls on his back.

“I know that you’ve had it hard. I can see that life is forcing you to grow up too fast. Your mind is far too burdened for someone your age. Childhood is like a firework. It is bright and vibrant and colourful, but all too soon it fades away. I want you to have the chance to be your age, while you are still young,” his uncle says, giving him a smile. 

“It’s too late for that, Uncle. I haven’t been a child since the day my father banished me,” he says roughly, standing up and turning to head back to work.

“So you aren’t going to go?”

He pauses. 

“Well... she’s expecting me now, I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

Later that night, after closing the shop, he steps outside. This “date” hasn’t even started and he’s already feeling like a fool from his uncle enforcing his idea of a good haircut on him. Of course, Jin immediately points it out when she arrives. 

“Hey. Well, look at you,” she laughs, ruffling his hair, “you look so cute!”

He mutters a complaint about how long it took his uncle to get it right, but his mind is reeling at having just been called “cute”. He was not “cute”. Sure, he was called many things over the years. He’d grown to accept being called “grotesque”, or “disappointing”, or “jerk”, but not “cute”. He didn’t know how to process that. 

She must be trying to get him off guard. As she tugs at his arm towards the city streets, he glances back at the tea shop. He’s not so sure this was a good idea.

The dinner was… awkward, to say the least. If her strategy was to make him embarrass himself to the point of firebending out of frustration, she was getting closer than he cared to admit. Why was lying so hard? Why was talking to people so hard? How did his sister do this so easily?

To say he’s relieved to get out of that restaurant is an understatement. Jin is going on about a Firelight fountain, and though he’s still not convinced she isn’t plotting for him to reveal himself as a firebender, he can’t deny that she looks genuinely happy. Her eyes are sparkling with excitement and her smile is almost too bright to look at. He feels like he doesn’t match being next to her. Where she’s happy and vibrant, he’s cold and cynical. There’s no way she actually wanted to go on a date with him, right? Why would she?

They make their way into an open city square with a large fountain in the middle. There are candles floating in the water and lanterns all around, none of which hold a flame.

“I can’t believe it!” she exclaims, “They aren’t lit!”

Her voice gets to him. She sounds so… upset. She really seemed disappointed about this. The spark in her eyes has completely fizzled out and he couldn’t help but be affected by it. She looked like a kicked puppy. 

“Close your eyes,” he says, “and don’t peek.”

His mind is screaming at him that this is a trap, this is what she wanted, but his body moves anyways.

He takes a deep breath, before springing to action. His arms shoot out in a flurry of action. Small flames fly from his fingers in all directions. He points with two fingers, instead of his usual punches or open palmed attacks. This is the most precise he’s ever been in his firebending. The most controlled. He barely makes a sound. Each flame hits it’s target dead-on, and in no time at all he’s finished. 

“Okay, now you can look,” he says.

She opens her eyes and gasps, “Oh wow!” She leans over the fountain, gazing at the reflections of the candles dancing about in the water. “What happened? How did they light? What did you-?”

He stands next to her to enjoy the view as well. He had to admit that she was right about the fountain. It certainly did have its charm. He freezes when he feels her grab his hand softly. Turning to look at her, he finds something unfamiliar in her eyes, mixed with the sparkle from before.

Like a deer in the headlights, he’s unable to move. Time seems to slow down as she slowly and carefully leans in. At the last second, he gets a brilliant idea. He grabs a paper from his pocket and shoves it right in front of her face, which had been getting dangerously close to his own. What had she been doing that close? Surely not...

“I've brought you something! It's a coupon for a free cup of tea,” he says, wincing at the edge of panic he can hear in his own voice. 

Jin looks startled, but her expression quickly softens to a smile, “Lee, this is so sweet.”

He takes this opportunity to take a few steps back. Rubbing the back of his neck, he says “Don't thank me, it was my uncle's idea. He thinks you're our most valuable customer.”

“Your uncle is a good teacher,” she says, closing the distance between them once more. He tries not to panic. “I have something for you too. Now it's your turn to close your eyes.”

His thoughts, which were just running at a million miles a minute, screech to a halt. He closes his eyes obediently. For a moment, there is nothing. Then, so soft it’s barely there, he feels something press against his lips. She- she was- that’s- they were… 

Unable to formulate a proper thought, he just leans forward, pressing himself closer to her. For less than a second he’s completely content and comfortable. The soft pressure of his mouth against her’s, the warmth of the nearby candles, and the ambient sound of water flowing. 

His eyes shoot open as his mind catches up to what's going on and he jumps away from her. He looks at her with wide eyes before turning away from her.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“It's complicated. I have to go,” he says, starting to walk away. He pauses and adds “I’m sorry,” before heading back to the shop. He doesn’t turn back. He doesn’t want to see her face. He can’t bear having to see her look like she did when they’d arrived at the fountain. He didn’t want to know that she made that face because of him.

He knew this wasn’t fair to her. It was clear that he’d been wrong about her motives. His uncle was right. Jin had… feelings for him. He wouldn’t have agreed to this if he’d known that for sure. 

Nothing could ever have come of this. She was an innocent Earth Kingdom civilian who didn’t know anything about the war going on outside the city’s walls. It was impossible. She may be free to worry about things like love and dating, but he isn’t. He’s not just some civilian. He’s…

“How was your night, Prince Zuko?” Iroh asks.

He looks up, only now noticing that his feet had carried him back on autopilot. He ignores his uncle and silently steps into his room, slamming the doors together behind him. He takes a step into his room, then pauses. 

While he knew that this… relationship… would never go anywhere, he couldn’t deny that his evening... hadn’t been the worst. Far from it. Though it might be silly, he realised that he had enjoyed spending time with Jin. The dinner, as awkward it may have been, watching the candlelight on the water with her by his side, and the… 

He opens the doors a small crack, and says softly, “It was nice,” without looking at Iroh. Before his uncle gets the chance to respond, he slams the doors closed once more.

He takes a few paces and plops into the bed. Somehow, he was just as tired as he’d been the past few nights, even without all the fighting and jumping to and from buildings. He buries his face into the soft pillow. 

When will he get to stop lying? Will he have to hide and deceive just to get by for the rest of his life?

He has to lie about his name. He has to lie about where he’s from. Though he loathes to address it, the lies go much deeper than that. That, and they’ve been in place for much longer than his banishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ay so I had already written most of this chapter when I posted chapter one so this one is out pretty quick
> 
> I aint even started on the next chapter yet, so it might be a lil while
> 
> also I know there is some Jin/Zuko in this chapter, but that aint it as far as ships for this story so don't worry


	3. Noodle Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noodle time.

Zuko walks through the streets of the upper ring, head in the clouds. So much had happened over the past few days.

Since recovering from his sudden sickness he’s been feeling a lot better, but his mind is still buzzing. He can’t stop thinking about his recent choices and their implications.

He freed the Avatar’s Bison. That was a big deal. 

With his bison back, the Avatar and his posy are free to leave Ba Sing Se as soon as they’ve finished whatever business they had here. All thanks to Zuko. He had given the key to freedom to the very person he’s been trying to catch. Without him, his father will never allow him to go home.

He lets out a deep sigh and takes in his surroundings. He’d made his way to the market, where the streets are lined on either side with vendors and booths. He meanders around for a few minutes, before plopping down at one of the food stalls and making an order. Within minutes, he’s got a hot bowl of earth kingdom noodles in front of him.

It’s good food. Despite having grown up in royalty, the last three years he’d been living in exile hadn’t exactly been filled with the same level of gourmet cuisine, especially after having lost his ship and crew. Since coming to Ba Sing Se the meals were the best Zuko’s had in weeks. Even more so here in the upper ring.

Despite the quality of the ingredients and the flavour that his previous meals had been lacking, he finds himself longing for something that none of the earth kingdom food could provide; spice. 

No matter what vendors he went to or what obscure restaurants he frequented, there was never a spicy dish. He supposed that’s what happens when the nations are at war. Fire Nation spices are non-existent in the other nations.

Zuko misses spicy food. He misses the vibrant colours. He misses the turtleducks. He misses his family.

He’d freed the Avatar’s bison. He’d practically decided that he was giving up. He’d never eat a spicy meal again. He’d never go home again.

Is this really what he wants? His uncle said that he’s free to choose his own destiny, but is this really the right choice? 

He’s trying to keep positive. His uncle had been doing great work. They’d been offered their own shop and apartment here in the upper ring. Their restaurant had a great reputation for their delicious tea and a welcoming environment. Well, welcoming except for when Zuko was working. 

It’s not so bad, really.

“One extra-large bowl, please!” a high pitched voice comes from beside him, breaking his train of thought. 

On the stool to his left is a short girl with no shoes on. 

“For you?” the vendor asks, incredulously, “Someone of your size would have a hard time finishing it. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer a regular bowl?”

“Actually, I’d prefer to have the size I asked for, thanks,” the girl says, squinting at the vendor who simply shrugs.

“Alright, that’ll be six copper pieces, Miss,” the vendor replies.

The girl’s eyes widen. “Six? You’ve gotta be kidding me… I only have four,” she says.

“If you want a smaller size, the large will be five copper pieces and the regular will cost four,” the vendor says.

Zuko looks at the sad look on the girl’s face and feels around in his pocket for a moment.

“Here,” he says, plopping a copper piece onto the counter, “At least get yourself a large.”

“Yes!” she says, pumping both fists into the air as the vendor accepts the money and starts preparing her meal.

He tries to take his attention off of her and eat his meal in peace, but he can't help but notice that as she eats her own food she seems to grow distant and pensive.

"Something on your mind?" he asks.

She raises her head from the noodles but doesn't turn to look at him. "What's it to you?" she counters with a guarded expression.

"Nothing, really. You just seem like there's something bothering you. I've been told voicing your thoughts can help," Zuko shrugs.

She seems to consider this a moment before her expression softens and she starts talking. "It's about my parents," she says, "They never… we never really understood each other. We're too different."

He nods, "I can definitely understand that. That what's got you so down?"

"Yeah. A little while ago I ran away," she pauses, pursing her lips as she mulls it over, "I'm happy, you know? Without them."

A runaway at her age? He'd been about her age when he was banished, but he had his uncle and his crew with him. "Do you have anyone to stay with? If you need a place for a few nights or something to eat or drink my uncle and I would be more than happy to help you out."

She shakes her head, "I've found my place. Ever since I ran away I've been travelling the world with some new friends I made.” 

“They take good care of you?” he asks.

“I don’t need to be taken care of, but they’re much better company than my family was. Sure, my friends can be annoying at times, but they accept me for who I am. I can finally be myself around them. I have everything I wanted, but… still, I can't help but miss my mom and dad. Is that weird?"

He hums before responding "You still love them, it seems. The question then is, do they deserve it?"

"I don't know... maybe? They made me miserable. They forced me to be a person that I'm not. They never believed in who I really am. They tried to shove me in a box that I just wasn't made to fit in. I was never the daughter they wanted to have."

He winces. This is hitting way too close to home. 

"But even knowing all that," she continues, "Part of me still cares about them. They're my parents. They probably believed they were doing the best for me, even if they were wrong. I don't regret leaving, but…"

Zuko pats her back gently as she sighs. 

"I was over all of this. I had been perfectly happy pretending I never was their daughter but they had to go and dig it all back up with that stupid letter."

"They sent you a letter?" he asks.

"Yup. Said they miss me. Say they love me and want me to visit."

"Do you want to visit them?"

She shrugs helplessly, gazing blankly down at her noodles. "Would you go see your parents if they sent you a letter?"

He scoffs, "My father doesn't want anything to do with me. Not anymore. I'm starting to see that maybe he never really did."

She purses her lips. 

"Look, I don't know enough about the situation to say for sure, but it seems like they do care about you in their own way, even if their actions towards you are misguided. Maybe now that they’ve seen how you can and will leave them at any time, they'll treat you better," he says, "I’m just saying that you might have a chance to fix things. I guess in the end it comes down to whether you think it's worth it to take that risk." 

She is quiet for a minute before replying, "I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. Leaving them was absolutely the right choice for me… but I do think if I don't even try to fix things with them I'll probably regret it. I guess it's worth a shot, even if nothing ends up changing."

"I hope things go well for you," he says with a small smile.

"Thank you," she says, sounding a lot less tense than she had at the beginning of their conversation.

Zuko turns back to his remaining noodles, thinking the conversation is finished.

"What about you?" She asks, softly.

"What about me?"

"Well, don’t you think there's any chance you and your parents could make up?"

He sighs, running his hand through his hair before resting it lightly on the scarred side of his face.

"I… I don't think so," he says, "If you asked me a month ago I would probably give you a different answer, but I've been coming to a lot of realizations recently. See, I never ran away as you did."

"You still live with your parents? But I thought-"

"I didn't say that. It- it's complicated," he says, then after a moment's pause, "I guess it’s not that complicated. I was kicked out. Banished."

"But, if your parents were so horrible to you, wouldn't you be happy to be kicked out? To be free of them?"

He lets out a short chuckle, "I actually never thought of it like that. I guess in hindsight, yeah, maybe it was a good thing. At the time I didn't see it like that, though."

“What do you mean?”

Zuko stares at his noodles, mulling over his options. He’d never talked about this before. He’d only just been able to realize the truth for himself. Maybe now was the time to open up a little. Besides, this was just some random earth kingdom girl. In a massive city like this, the odds of ever even meeting her again were low.

“All my life my only purpose was to make my father proud of me. I gave it everything I had, but no matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. To make matters worse, my sister was always perfect. A genius. She excelled in everything she did, and I… I just didn’t. I failed, a lot. Even when I didn’t fail I didn’t do well enough to impress my father,” he says, the words flowing out of him.

“That sounds rough,” she says.

“It was. Growing up, it was drilled into my head that I was a failure. I was a disappointment. My sister’s mockery and belittling, my father’s disdain, I grew to learn that it was justified. He was not a bad father for being cold and distant and ashamed of me, I was simply a bad son for failing to meet his expectations. In my mind, he could do no wrong.”

“That really does not sound healthy.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think it was,” he laughs humorlessly, “but that’s just how things were. That’s why when he permanently destroyed half my face and banished me, my first thought wasn’t that he was a horrible person. The first thing that came to my mind was how can I make it up to him? How can I get him to forgive me? How can I make him let me come back home and give me another chance?”

“Geez…” she says, “that’s terrifying. It sounds like he brainwashed you. How did you break away?”

“It took me a lot longer than I’d like to admit,” he sighs, “I’m still not sure if I fully have broken away. Three years. Three years I’ve spent on a wild goose chase because he told me if I bought... something to him he would let me come home. I should have realized that he’d never expected me to be able to find it. He just wanted to get rid of me. He made the task so impossible that nobody in the world can succeed. That’s how much he hates me.”

“Three years?” her eyes widen, “You spent that long on some stupid quest just to go back to that abusive piece of trash?” 

“I’m not proud of it,” he says, looking down and moving the last few noodles around in his bowl, “I’ve… I’ve done things I regret to try and complete his task. I’ve made enemies. I don’t expect to be forgiven, but I’m… I’m trying, you know? To be better.”

She is quiet for a moment, “I don’t think you’re a bad person. I think you’re an unlucky guy who was raised by a bad person. It seems like you’re trying to take responsibility and be your own person. I can respect that.”

“Thanks,” Zuko says.

“Thanks to you, too,” she replies, “for listening to my problems. I think you’re right about it helping to talk.”

“I don’t really do this very often. Half the time I avoid talking to people or they avoid talking to me. It’s rare that both parties are actually interested,” he chuckles.

“People avoid talking to you? Why’s that?” she asks.

“Um, big gruesome facial scar? Constant angry-looking expression,” he provides, arching an eyebrow, “I thought it was obvious. I don’t exactly scream ‘approachable’.”

She makes a funny expression, “Oh. Did I not mention that I’m blind?”

He sputters, “You’re blind!?” 

“I guess I didn’t, then!” she laughs, “Yeah, I’ve been blind as a gopher bat ever since I was a baby.” 

Looking closer, he can see the unfocused and milky look in her eyes, “I had no idea.”

“No worries, even my closest friends forget I’m blind. Like, all the time actually. Speaking of, I’d better start heading back. I wanna say goodbye to those losers before heading out to visit my parents,” she says, hopping down from the stool.

“So you’re going after all, huh? I hope things go well.”

“Me too. Thanks for the coin, by the way, those noodles were great! See you around, Noodle Guy!” she waves before disappearing into the crowd. 

Noodle Guy, huh? That’s new. Not the worst name he’d been called by a long shot, though.

He turns back and meets the gaze of the wide-eyed noodle vendor. Zuko shoots him a half-smile before getting up and starting back towards the shop. As he’s starting to walk away he hears the vendor let out a big puff of air.

“Geez,” he says as he begins clearing away the dishes, “Kids these days have sure got it rough.”

Zuko can’t help but agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably only going to be one chapter more after this??? Maybe two??? Who knows???


	4. The Banished Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cave time.

Zuko yelps as he’s shoved roughly down the dirt tunnel, rolling and tumbling all the way. He does his best to protect his head, but he can tell that he’ll be getting his fair share of bruises. Finally, he slams to the bottom, landing sprawled out on the cold stone floor. He’s left sputtering as the wind is knocked out of him.

“No way… Zuko?” 

He pushes himself onto his knees and looks up. Of course. Just his luck. Of all the people to be held captive with, it had to be her. The Avatar’s waterbender. She does not look very happy to see him. There is a moment of silence as they look at each other, neither quite sure what to make of the situation. He turns around, sat on the ground of the cave. 

His eyes dart around the cave and he lets out a deep breath. There are worse places he could be imprisoned. The glowing crystals are pretty if nothing else. He decides that ignoring her wouldn’t be that difficult. He sets about getting lost in his thoughts to pass the time. Unfortunately, it seems that she has other ideas.

“Why would they throw you in here?” she questions.

He doesn’t say anything. It’s not like she’d believe a word that comes out of his mouth anyway. 

“Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!” she exclaims. She’s pacing around the cave if the sound of her footsteps are anything to go by.

He glances at her over his shoulder. She doesn’t know that he wants nothing to do with this. She’s angry and she’s taking it out on him. Even though this situation isn’t his fault, in all honesty, she has the right to be angry with him at this point. 

“You're a terrible person! You know that?”

He purses his lips but doesn’t argue. She isn’t wrong. 

“Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace!”

The guilt is building. He feels it in the back of his throat, pinching his shoulders together, filling his gut with a heavy weight. He’s glad to be facing away from her at this point.

“But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says before he can stop himself. 

So much for ignoring her. What she said just... got to him in a way that the rest of her spiel didn’t. It made it sound like there was no chance of breaking away from his father’s influence. That there is no hope that he could possibly do the right thing. That he’d done what he’d done because he’d wanted to, not out of desperation. Rather than voicing these thoughts, he clamps his mouth shut once more.

“I don't?” she demands, with more venom than before, “How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.”

He turns to face her. She’s crouched on the floor, crying into her knees. “I’m sorry,” he says, “That's something we have in common.”

She looks at him with wide eyes, as if that’s the last thing she expected to hear from him.

“I'm sorry, Zuko. I had no idea," she says, then after a moment adds "Why… why are you acting so strange?”

“I’m sorry?” he raises an eyebrow.

“No- I mean, you’re so calm! You’re always yelling, always arguing back...” she says, waving her hands around, "Now you're acting like… I don't know! Like you actually have feelings! Besides being angry, that is."

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that too,” he says.

She looks at him for a moment, before standing up and responding, “I'm sorry I yelled at you before.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face,” she explains.

“My face…” he repeats, raising his hand to his scar, “I see.”

“No, no, that's-that's not what I meant,” she says, stepping closer to him.

“It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that? Banished? Cursed to chase the Avatar?”

“You never heard about that before? How I got my scar?” he asks, only to get a shake of her head as a response. “Well, I guess the stories didn’t travel outside of the Fire Nation. That’s probably for the best, not many people actually know the truth about what happened anyway.”

“What did happen?” she asks, "If you're willing to talk about it, that is..."

He looks at the ground for a moment, steadying himself. He knows that showing some vulnerability and honesty would be the best option to ease the animosity between them, but that didn’t make talking about this any easier. She needs the context.

“Azula was always better than me,” he starts, not looking the waterbender in the eye, “I knew it, she knew it, and my father definitely knew it. No matter what I did, it was never as good as her. It was even worse since she's younger than me. That’s why I always tried as hard as I could. I jumped at any chance to prove myself, to make my father proud.”

“Zuko, I…”

“I guess to you he’s probably just some.. undefined evil. The epitome of everything that stands against you. The face of the whole Fire Nation. More of a concept than a man. You hate him and want to defeat him, but you’ve never actually met him. You've never even seen him before,” she doesn’t respond, so he continues, “For me? He’s a real person. More than that, he’s my family, my father. Of course, I wanted to make my nation proud, to make the ruler of my people proud. Beyond that, though, I just wanted my father to accept me.”

He risks looking at her face. She seems to be shocked and scared, like she’d never imagined actually having Ozai as a parent.

“One day, he was having a war meeting. My uncle told me I shouldn’t go, but in my mind, it was a chance. Maybe if I couldn’t impress him with my bending, I could try to impress him with my ideas. I was determined to be useful in whatever way I could.”

She seemed to be hanging onto his every word. The hard part was coming up.

“A general proposed the plan to sacrifice an entire division of new recruits as part of their strategy. Young men who were loyal to their nation and had no real experience in battle. I… I spoke out. I told them that it was wrong, and that they shouldn’t go through with that plan.”

“Good! I know that he’s evil, but I didn’t think he’d go so far as to betray his own people like that! They deserved to get called out.” she exclaims.

“Yeah, well, my father didn’t take it very well. He said that my speaking out was a great show of disrespect. The only chance he gave me to redeem myself was to take part in Agni Kai.”

“Agni Kai?” she asks.

“A Fire Nation duel for one’s honour, only won when one party is burned by the other,” he explains.

“Geez! He’d go that far as punishment for speaking out of turn? You were only trying to save people’s lives! That’s insane!”

He shrugs, “The general who’s plan I challenged was old and out of shape. Even though I wasn’t the best bender, I didn’t think I’d have any trouble beating him. So, I agreed. It wasn’t until I showed up to the fight that I realized my misunderstanding. When I insulted that general, I did so in the Firelord’s presence, in the Firelord’s war meeting. Meaning I didn’t only disrespect that general, I disrespected the Firelord himself.”

“Wait, you’re not saying…”

“Yeah. I had to fight the Firelord. I had to fight my father. I had to, but I couldn’t do it. I was pathetic. I begged him for forgiveness. Instead, he banished me and he...” Zuko trails off and gestures to the scar, to the waterbender's horror, “and he told me that the only way I would be allowed home was if I brought the Avatar. I’ve been searching for him ever since.” 

“Oh my gosh, Zuko, that’s- that’s awful,” she says, and he’s surprised at the tone of her voice. She seems genuinely upset for him, instead of being upset at him like she normally would be.

“I know that this doesn’t make any of what I did right. I understand if you never see me as anything but an enemy. I’m just hoping that maybe you can understand why I did the things I did. It might not seem like it, but I really don’t have anything against you or your friends. Do you understand? As horrible as it sounds, the way I acted towards you and your friends was never anything but a means to an end. I had been banished and searching for years when the Avatar returned. I was desperate. All I ever wanted was to go home.” 

“I do understand,” she says, “I really had no idea it was like that. I’ve only ever seen you trying to capture Aang and I guess… I don’t know, I just never considered that you might have reasons for it besides just... Being evil, or something.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I ever gave you a reason to think otherwise.”

“No, really. The world isn’t always black and white and that's something that's not always easy for me to see. I- I’m really sorry, Zuko.”

“What? You have nothing to be sorry about. I've been chasing you around the world! I'm the one who's sorry,” he says.

“No, not like that, what I mean is I’m sorry about your father. I’m sorry about the way he treated you. You didn’t deserve that.”

He gives her a sad smile, “Thanks, but I’m fine now. It was three years ago. I’ve had time to get over it.”

“Three years...” she says, face scrunching up, “Wait, how old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“What!” she exclaims, “You’re only one year older than Sokka! Only two years older than me!”

He looks at her with a bemused expression. “Just how old did you think I am?”

She flushes slightly and throws her hands in the air, “I don’t know! You just have this-this… I don’t know, you don’t act anything like Sokka.”

“I wasn’t ever really given much opportunity to act my age,” he says with a shrug. 

“That means you must have only been thirteen when the Firelord…” she says, eyes darting to the left side of his face with a pained expression.

He looks at his feet.

Suddenly, his view of the ground is obscured by a blur of blue, and he is forced to take a step back to absorb the impact. It takes his brain a moment to process what is going on. It seems that the waterbender is hugging him? 

He’s about to ask her why she’s doing that when he realizes that it actually feels… nice. After a moment, he catches up and slowly puts his hands on her back. They stay silent for a moment, and he soaks in as much comfort as possible. 

“Wait a second,” the waterbender says, “That means Azula can only be fifteen at most. There’s no way that’s right.”

“She’s fourteen, same as you,” he says.

“What!” she exclaims, pulling away and looking at him with wide eyes, “Azula is not fourteen! How could someone my age be that evil?”

“I wonder that sometimes, myself,” Zuko says with a light chuckle.

They fall into a comfortable silence for a moment before the waterbender speaks again.

“Hey, Zuko, you know what you said, about being free to choose your own destiny? Does that mean…”

“That I’m not going to chase the Avatar anymore?”

She nods.

“I… I mean, yeah. I had no plans to go out and hunt him again. Since we got to the city, my uncle and I have been running a tea shop, of all things. Honestly, I was just going to keep doing that.”

She squints her eyes, “Why are you saying that in past-tense? Like that’s changed since you were captured?”

He blinks. He hadn’t realized that he’d been speaking in past-tense.

“You’re not planning on trying to capture Aang again now, are you?”

“I…”

“Zuko, please. I need you to promise me that you won’t. Please! I need to know that I can trust you.”

He looks at her, “I promise. You have my word.”

She smiles at him and the tension falls away from her shoulders. Her eyes drift once more to the left side of his face. “Hey, you know your scar?”

“I know of it,” he replies.

“What if it didn’t have to be permanent? What if there was a way that you could be free of it?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I have healing abilities,” she says.

“It’s a scar,” he argues, “It’s three years old. It can’t be healed.”

“This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole,” she says, lifting up a small vial, “It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work, but…”

She takes a step towards him and raises a hand towards his face. He is caught off guard for a moment but quickly takes a step back. 

“Something important?” he repeats, “My scar is not important. It doesn’t hurt anymore, and I’ve gotten used to the sight and hearing differences. Besides, you never know when you’ll actually need that. You shouldn’t waste it on me.”

“Wait, it affects your senses?”

Damn. There goes that secret. It's always a pain when your enemies know your weaknesses. Hopefully, the two of them won't have a reason to fight each other any more. 

“O-only a little, it’s not that bad,” he argues, “It just took some getting used to since its only different on the one side is all!”

“Ooh, that Firelord,” she says angrily, “why I oughta-”

Suddenly, the wall of the cave crashes in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I literally had this written weeks ago I just kept not posting it cuz I was too lazy/busy to edit it haha hoho
> 
> Maybe one more chapter after this? Two? Who knows?


	5. Zuko

Zuko raises his hand to shield his eyes from the debris. As the dust clears, he’s able to see Uncle and-

“Aang!” the waterbender yells and rushes to pull him into a hug. Zuko blinks. Was that the Avatar's name? He feels like he should have picked up on that before. His uncle comes over and pulls Zuko into a tight embrace. The Avatar glares at Zuko over the girl’s shoulder. After a moment, he steps away from his uncle.

“What are you doing with the Avatar, Uncle?” Zuko asks, surprised.

“Saving you, that’s what!” the Avatar responds angrily.

“Zuko, it’s time we talked," Iroh says, then turns to the Avatar, "Go, you can't let them find you here."

He watches the Avatar and the waterbender begin down the tunnel. He's surprised to see her look back, and their eyes meet for a brief moment before she continues on her way.

He turns back to his uncle.

"You're not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good."

Zuko closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, steeling himself. He responds "I know, Uncle."

Suddenly, the pretty glowing crystals spring to life, locking Iroh into a bind of spikes. Cursing to himself, Zuko turns to face his sister with a clenched jaw.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," Azula says with her usual silky venomous tone, "But Zuko? Prince Zuko? You're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"

"Release him immediately."

"It's not too late for you, Zuko," Azula says smoothly, "You can still redeem yourself."

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you," Iroh calls from his crystal cage.

"Why don't you let him decide for himself, Uncle? I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day," she says, making a triumphant fist, "this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honour back. You will have Father's love. You will have everything you want."

"Zuko, I am begging you! Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want." Iroh calls desperately.

"You are free to choose," Azula says, stepping past him in the direction of the Avatar.

Little does she know, he's already made up his mind.

He trails behind Azula quietly. Once he hears her begin her confrontation with the Avatar, he ducks behind a cluster of crystals and watches the skirmish unfold. As the elements clash together, he mentally prepares himself for what he’s about to do. He watches as Azula finds herself stood in between the Avatar and the waterbender, and knows that this momentary standstill is his chance to step in.

He sprints forward, leading with a blast of fire in between the three of them. They stand in a diamond formation, each carefully gaging the situation. Nobody makes a noise and the silence of the room makes his pulse echo all the louder in his ears. Zuko locks eyes with the waterbender, and she raises an eyebrow, her expression a mixture of hopeful and fearful. He tears his gaze to his sister, who barely has time to react before she’s countering another burst of flames.

He sees his sister’s eyes widen for a moment, a rare flash of vulnerability, and his heart wrenches. 

“You are going to regret this, brother!” Azula yells, “I don’t know what I expected, you always were a disappointment.”

The battle continues in a blur of action. The Avatar takes a moment to process Zuko’s presence as an ally, but quickly rejoins the fray when blue fire starts flying in his direction. Slowly but surely, the three of them begin making progress. Though they’ve yet to land any real hits on her, they were managing to push her into fighting defensively. When up against Azula, this is no small feat.

Then, with a loud rumbling and a cloud of debris, the Dai Li join the fight. Zuko turns around to face a small army of earthbenders, all under the direct order of his sister. He curses under his breath and readies himself for the next stage of the battle.

A bright light calls his attention back behind him, where he sees the Avatar slowly rising into the air, his eyes and tattoos glowing. He finds himself unable to look away, lowering his fists and intently watching to see what will happen next. 

Time seems to slow down before the catacombs light up even brighter with a loud clap. The Avatar convulses in the air, lightning coursing through his small body. Zuko claps his hands over his mouth, staring horrified as the young airbender falls lifelessly towards the ground. Luckily, the waterbender had her wits about her enough to cushion his fall, but the real damage had already been done. Zuko looks to his sister in disbelief. 

She is smirking, smoke still trailing her fingers as she stands there with her perfect form. For a moment he feels like crying. Azula had never been the nicest girl, but no matter how cruel she’d been, he never thought she’d go this far. He doesn't know what to do with the knowledge that his baby sister could kill a child and feel no remorse. He can't stand how pleased she looks with herself. 

He turns back to the Avatar only to find Iroh in a protective fighting stance in front of the two young benders.

“You’ve got to get out of here! I’ll hold them off as long as I can!” Iroh shouts, and the waterbender runs off, the Avatar lifeless in her arms.

Zuko springs back into action immediately going to help his uncle fend off the Dai Li. 

“Prince Zuko, what are you doing? I told you to go!” 

“What? I’m not going to leave you, Uncle!” Zuko says, fending off the swarm as best he can.

“I can take care of myself, Zuko, the Avatar and his friends cannot!” Iroh exclaims.

“But, Uncle-”

“Go now, Zuko!”

“But-” 

Suddenly, there’s cold pressure around his waist and he feels himself being pulled backwards. As he’s flying through the air, he looks down and sees a tentacle of water wrapped around him. He grunts as he’s tugged into a pool at the base of a waterfall. He catches sight of the Avatar and the waterbender before the three of them begin ascending on a stream of water. 

They land in a heap once they reach the surface. He lays there for a moment, processing. He sits up slowly and heats himself up, his clothes drying instantly in a puff of steam. 

He’s about to demand that the waterbender sends him back down, to scold her for leaving his uncle to fend for himself, but when he sees her staring down at the Avatar’s lifeless body, the fire in him fades away. Instead, he reaches over and puts a hand on her shoulder. He tells himself that his uncle made a sacrifice in order to protect them. If he goes back, he will be dishonouring his uncle’s sacrifice. 

He closes his eyes, mouth pressed into a thin line. He'd finally made the right decision and it had blown up in his face, just like everything always does. The Avatar is dead, the Fire Nation will hate him even more than before, and Iroh's going to be captured. He honestly has no idea what he's going to do from here on out.

His uncle told him to help the Avatar and the waterbender, so he figures he can start there at least. A thought pops into his head.

"You said that you were saving that magic water for something important..?" he offers.

Her eyes widen and she fumbles for her vial. He watches, entranced as she pulls the water out and directs it to the wounded Avatar with smooth fluid motions. The water glows above the gruesome injury before seemingly being absorbed by the boy's chest. 

They both watch with bated breath as the last drop of water fades. A moment that feels like an hour passes before the Avatar lets out a tiny sigh. The tension fades and the two of them slump with relief.

"He's alive," she says, breathlessly "Aang's gonna be ok, he's not dead!"

"Yes," he says softly, "You did it, you saved his life."

She looks his way, eyes full of emotion and wraps her arms tightly around him. His face flushes and he flounders for a moment, brain halting. After a few seconds, he pats her slowly on the back, unsure of the protocol of receiving hugs.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but thank you, Zuko. I won’t lie, I wasn't sure I could trust you, but after everything you said earlier… I don't know what I would've done if you sided with Azula back there."

"You shouldn't thank me. It doesn't change what I did to you and your friends," he says.

"No, Zuko, it proves that you are able to see past what your father's taught you and make decisions for yourself. It proves that there is good inside you, even if you haven't always shown it. Besides, the last thing Aang needs right now is more enemies chasing him. Having you on our side is a big relief."

"Yeah, it is kinda nice," he agrees, hugging her just the tiniest bit closer. 

After a moment of silence, he says "Aang, huh? I must have heard that before, but I can’t for the life of me remember him as anything other than ‘The Avatar’."

"You’re joking," she says, leaning back and looking at him incredulously.

"What? He is the Avatar! It's not hard for people to know who I'm talking about," he argues, crossing his arms defensively.

"That's no excuse! You must have heard us say Aang a thousand times! Do you know any of our names? Do you even know my name?"

"Um...” he stares at her blankly for a moment, “Uh, there's you and your brother, right? You two are Water Tribe."

"So that’s a ‘no’?"

"I-I feel really bad…" he winces.

“I ca-” she starts, but is interrupted by a heavy thud.

"Katara!" calls a voice from over his shoulder, followed by the sound of a pair of feet dropping to the ground.

"Ah, yes! Katara! I knew that, it was on the tip of my tongue," he says.

She gives him an unamused expression before addressing the people behind him.

"Sokka, thank goodness!"

He takes a mental note to add that to his rapidly growing list of people’s names. Speaking of Sokka, he definitely would not be happy to see the guy who'd been trying to capture his friend for months. Especially when he’s sitting right next to said friend who also happens to be on the brink of death. Sokka probably wouldn't be happy to see him in any circumstances, come to think of it. Zuko keeps his head down and tries to make himself as unnoticeable as possible, which is still pretty noticeable, in all honesty, but Sokka is thankfully preoccupied for the moment.

"The Dai Li could find us any minute now. We've got to get Aang out of here," Katara says.

"Wait, what happened to him?" Sokka asks. 

Katara scowls, "Azula happened to him. She struck him with lightning."

"What? Lightning?! Is he ok?"

"No. He's alive though, and that's all we can ask for right now."

He hears the sound of another person dismounting the bison. 

"There's no way Twinkle Toes would kick the bucket that easi- Hey, wait a minute, is that Noodle Guy?" comes a strangely familiar voice.

His eyes grow large. There's no way. 

"Noodle Guy?" Sokka and Katara ask at the same time, the waterbender looking at him incredulously.

"Uh…"

Sokka walks closer to get a good look at Zuko. Zuko winces as recognition flashes across his face.

"Katara! What are you doing hanging out with Zuko?!" he gasps, "Did they brainwash you too?"

"There's no time to explain, but we don't have to worry about him anymore," Katara says.

"Wait, did you say 'Zuko'? Are you telling me that Noodle Guy was actually ‘Angry Ponytail Guy’ the whole time?" the blind girl asks.

"Angry Po- What?" Zuko blinks.

"I don't even know what to call him anymore, he's gotten rid of the ponytail," Sokka says, scratching his chin, "Say, Toph, what's the deal with the 'Noodle Guy' thing? I'm not completely sold but I'm open to new ideas. Gimme the pitch."

So her name is Toph, Zuko muses.

Before she can answer, Sokka shakes his head. "Wait, what am I saying!? We can worry about that later. We've got to get Aang out of here!" 

He gently picks up the Avatar and starts bringing him to the bison. Katara gets up to follow him. Zuko stands as well, but lags behind, unsure of whether or not he should join them.

The three benders and the Avatar are all safely on the bison's back when he's struck with overwhelming anxiety. Should he go with them? He's certain that he's got to be about the last person they'd want hanging around with them right now, but he did owe it to his uncle to ensure their safety. He bites his lip.

The waterbender looks down at him from the saddle, he raises his eyebrows to her in question. She looks at him for a moment before patting the saddle next to her.

Well... here goes nothing.

He hops up onto the saddle and sits across from the blind girl, Toph. 

"Alright I think we're all set to-" Sokka stops mid-sentence as he looks over his shoulder to address those in the saddle, "Uh, Katara? I think we have a stowaway."

"Zuko's coming with us, Sokka. I promise we'll discuss it later, but right now we really need to get Aang to safety."

"If you say so..." Sokka says, apprehensively, "Appa, yip yip!"

The bison lurches forward before rapidly lifting into the air. Zuko clutches onto the sides of the saddle with a vice grip as he watches the massive city shrink below him.

He overhears Sokka muttering "What do you think, Momo? Am I the only one who realizes that's the same guy who's been trying to capture Aang this whole time? No? Just me? Okay…"

The whole saddle is completely silent for a while with nothing but the sound of wind rushing by. The silence makes Zuko uneasy, alone with his thoughts. He’d made the decision to go with the Avatar and his friends, but realistically what is he going to do now? Are they actually going to just put up with having him around after everything?

"So," Zuko starts, trying to lighten the mood, "How did it go with your parents?"

"They had me captured and tried to bring me home in a metal cage," Toph replies, "so it could have gone better."

"Oh… I'm really sorry, Toph," he says with a wince.

"Hey, no worries, I learned how to bend metal so it was no sweat breaking out. Besides, I can’t really complain, can I? I'm talking to the guy who's dad is the Fire Lord," she says, "I guess you weren't kidding when you said your father was a piece of work, huh?"

“Yeah… wait, what? You learned how to-”

"I'm sorry," Sokka interjects, "when exactly did you two meet?"

"I've actually been wondering that myself," Katara adds.

"Oh, just after I got that letter from my parents. He paid for my noodles and we talked for a bit."

"I only gave you one coin so you could get a larger size, I didn't pay for it," Zuko argues.

"Ohh, 'Noodle Guy'. I get it." Sokka nods with understanding.

As the night passes, Toph falls asleep and Katara takes Sokka’s place at Appa’s head to take a turn steering while her brother rests as well. Zuko decides to join her up front, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anyways. 

“Today has just been so surreal,” Katara says, softly, “I feel like a chapter of my life has just ended and I have no idea where we’re going from here. I can’t believe so much has happened in one day. It’s… it’s really scary.”

He nods, “It’s the same for me.”

“You… I still can’t wrap my head around this. That you’re here,” she admits, “Never, for even one second, did I even dream that you would ever join us.”

He purses his lips and looks down at his lap, after a moment he quietly asks “Are you sure you want me to be here?”

Katara glances at him with an eyebrow raised.

“I know you let me come with you this far, but... you can just drop me off somewhere outside of the city. I appreciate that you let me escape with you, but you don’t owe me anything more. After everything I’ve done to you and your friends, I can’t imagine any of you want me here.”

“Zuko,” she says, putting a hand on his, “I am glad you’re here. I am so thankful you decided to fight alongside us.”

“What good did that do? The Avatar still got injured, my Uncle got captured, and we barely escaped,” Zuko sighs.

“Do you regret it?”

“...No,” he says after a moment. 

“Then that’s all there is to it,” she shrugs, putting both hands back on the bison’s reins, “You are a powerful bender and you’re more useful to us up here than you would be outrunning the Fire Nation on your own. The next enemy we come across will definitely be easier with you on our side and… and I-I like you a lot more when we aren’t fighting each other. Getting to know you a little better doesn’t sound all that bad.”

His cheeks flush and he’s thankful that her eyes are on the landscape in front of them.

They’re quiet for a while before he adds “What will the Avatar think when he wakes up?” 

“What will Aang think when he wakes up,” she corrects.

“Right, that’s what I said,” Zuko chuckles.

Katara thinks for a moment before shrugging, “Aang is very forgiving. I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see that you’ve joined us, he loves making new friends. Besides, somebody has to teach him firebending eventually.”

“He hasn’t even mastered the four elements?” Zuko asks, eyebrows raised.

“You up for the job?”

“...I’ll think about it,” he grins.

The Avatar’s firebending teacher, huh? Well, at least it’s something to do, besides reuniting with Iroh, that is. 

The two benders fall into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the glowing stars above them and the wind in their hair. 

All things considered, the Avatar’s friends were reacting surprisingly well to his presence. It helped that Toph had gotten to know him a little already, and Katara had heard him out in the cave earlier. As for Sokka… actually Zuko had no idea why Sokka was acting so casual about him being here. He figures Sokka might just be an easy-going guy. 

He blinks as Katara’s head plops softly onto his shoulder. He glances down at her and sees her staring half-lidded out into the night. She mumbles something about landing soon. 

Well, time to learn how to steer a flying bison. 

He nudges the reins from the waterbender’s hands and slowly begins guiding the beast into the night, all the while stealing glances at the sleeping girl pressed into his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes so that took a while my bad hahaha
> 
> Honestly, I've had this chapter written since January but was not happy with it so I let it sit for months. I finally took the time to go back and tweak it today and I'm glad to just be done with this story.
> 
> Hopefully, this is a decent end!


End file.
